INDIA – Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk has celebrated its 100th global anniversary with a special event in Bangalore, India.

The major milestone comes at a point in time when the pharmaceutical company is set to launch a once-a-week insulin regime for Indian patients, with ongoing clinical trials in 27 sites involving 217 patients in India.

Denmark-based Novo Nordisk is also working on a weekly molecule drug for treating hemophilia, a rare blood disorder. The new drug molecule, Somapacitan, for treating growth hormones, will be given once a week to patients.

Since its inception on 16th February 1923, Novo Nordisk has grown from simply producing drug insulin to pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding its product portfolio to include diabetes care, obesity care, hemophilia care, and growth hormone therapy.

In a press release, Novo Nordisk said: “The two defining moments in the company’s history includes the establishment of Nordisk Insulin laboratorium in 1923, and the day Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium introduced its first insulin on 16 February 1925.”

The global drug major reaffirmed its commitment to providing care for people with diabetes, hemophilia, and other chronic diseases through its ’Driving Change for Generations’ campaign.

During the grand event in India, Novo Nordisk unveiled a unique digital employee community outreach portal to encourage its employees to volunteer for community service.

The digital community outreach portal will enable all employees to make significant contributions through their time, efforts, and skills.

It will connect the workforce with non-profit organizations across India, both virtually or in-person, with an aim of giving back to society.

As part of its centennial celebrations, Novo Nordisk set up a digital heritage gallery tracing back its rich historical milestones in the field of pharmaceutical innovations and breakthroughs.

Vikrant Shrotriya, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director of Novo Nordisk India, underscored that the company is committed to providing better medicines to improve access to quality care worldwide.

Going forward, we will continue our efforts to improve access to better care and support the capability development of the Indian healthcare infrastructure for better management of non-communicable diseases,” he noted.

Shrotriya emphasized that the India operations of Novo Nordisk is investing in modern research and development (R&D) for the development of high-quality medicines and therapies.

In January 2022, Novo Nordisk India launched the world’s first and only “peptide in a pill”, oral semaglutide, a gamechanger in diabetes management. GLP-1 RA in oral form is a testimony to our commitment,” he said.

The Corporate Vice President for the India business reaffirmed to patients that Novo Nordisk has an ambitious goal to find the cure to diabetes, noting its scientists are trying to find the best possible treatment options.

Over the last 100 years, we have been dedicated to finding better and better solutions for diabetes. Our products are almost bringing physiological control among people with diabetes,” added Shrotriya.

On his part, John Dawber, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director of Novo Nordisk Global Business Services, said that India presents a unique opportunity for the company to combine its scientific know-how with the expertise of tech players to create sustainable digital healthcare solutions.

Celebrating 100 years is both humbling and a proud once-in-a-lifetime experience for us at Novo Nordisk. This is a great time for us at Novo Nordisk to leverage India’s ecosystem of talent and startups to revolutionize healthcare in the country,” added Dawber.

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